Name: Jardin Asean (www.jardinasean.ca)
Address: 5828 Sherbrooke. O (MAP)
Tel: (514) 487-8868
Cuisine: Szechuan, Sushi, Dim Sum, Thai

As far as Asian tasting menus go, Jardin Asean is probably one of the best bets in the city. All four of their cuisines are available a la carte or all-you-can-eat. Depending on the night, the all-you-cab-eat ranges between $23-$26/person, and you can mix and match cuisines.

What’s nicest about the sushi is that you don’t have to pay for what you don’t eat. It also doesn’t suck which is surprising for anything that comes with all-you-can-eat attacehd to its name. In fact, except for the roll that feature cream cheese and lox, it’s remarkably good sushi sushi.

The Szechuan can be hit or miss, but it’s never disappointing. The dim sum is like what I imagine Chinese home cooking would be like. There’s also a seaweed salad that is possibly the daintiest (whatever the f**k that means) appetizer I’ve ever had.

Jardin Asean also features a list of specialty or exotic drinks that I’ve never tried, but they sure do seem colourful in the pictures on the drink card. Another bright and colourful beverage, come to think of it, is the green tea. It comes in glass pots, and is a shade of green that’s not unlike Mountain Dew. It tastes fine, though, so I drink it anyway.

As far as ambiance goes, it’s not a place to bring a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd date — in case the all-you-can-eat menu didn’t already lead you to that conclusion. As impressive as all the reds against a backdrop of stained wood is, they remind you constantly that you’re in a Chinese restaurant.

The service, finally, is neither bad nor good. The staff are just friendly enough that tipping them 15% is just plain fair. Especially in light of how much you can eat for twenty-five beans, you could probably tip them 20% and still come out ahead.

CT Moore also blogs full-time about new media at the Gypsy Bandito Vlog and about search engine marketing at the SearchAnyway Blog.

Tags: all you can eat, dim sum, Food, NDG, sushi, Szechuan, tasting menu, thai, Wine and Dine|
Posted By: CT Moore | Sep 7th